


Lost in the Rain

by I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins



Series: Broken Promises Lay in Ashes [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:15:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8449441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins/pseuds/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins
Summary: Mal Shepard gets his crew lost on an alien planet after a mission, in the middle of a rain storm. This one-shot is from Jack's pov.





	

The rain beats against Jack's skin in a rhythmic pattern that reminds her of drums pounding in the night. She fucking hates rain. The way it slicks down her skin like somebody's spit, slithering trails of cold and wet against her tattooed flesh.  

_Children's screams pierce the night, anger and fear and pain all bottled up in one, long continuous scream as Subject Zero tears through them, slaughtering everything that moves._

"So,  _Commander,_ " Jack says with a sneer, lips painted a muted red. "How the fuck did you manage to get us lost? Weren't you trained for this shit?"

Mal Shepard grins, running his thick fingers through his hair. It falls, soaked, against his forehead. Jack glares harder. She's always hated rain. 

Tali snorts, leaning over the engine of the Mako. She mutters a curse in her native tongue, accent rolling like silk. "Not even I can get this thing to run with what we have here. We are doomed unless I can get the comms to work, or Joker sends someone else down after us. Which he probably will, after we all drown in this ridiculous rain."

Garrus clears his throat, mandibles fluttering softly. "Uh, so about the comms... ."

"Fucking rain," Jack mutters, leaning against a large boulder. "Rains on a goddamn planet and all we can find are giant fuckin' rocks."

_Please don't kill me please don't kill me PLEASE DON'T KILL ME PLEASE DON'T KILL M-_

Jack pushes away from the cold stone, restless energy making her anxious. The rain always reminds her of all the worst moments in her life. It rained the day she escaped Pragia. It rained when they took the last of the good from her, tore it from her soul like it belonged to them to take. It even rained the day the Blue Suns caught her and took her to prison. She's always hated rain, since the first day she felt it.

Shepard's lips turn down, the skin around the scar on his bottom lip tugging tighter at the edges. "I guess an umbrella wouldn't hurt," he says. "Or you can sit in the Mako until Tali fixes the comms."

"Or Joker sends someone down, don't forget, Shepard," Garrus quips.

"Right. Or we all drown. Sorry, Jack," Shepard says, but his tone isn't mocking or mean.

Jack grunts, making a rude gesture. "Fuck you," she says, turning to walk away. 

_Let it be over. The rain falls in her eyes, stinging until she closes her eyelids in desperation. Stranger's hands slide easily down her rain-slicked skin, caressing, grabbing, pinching. Please don't kill me. Let it be over soon. Please don't kill me._

A hand rough with calluses closes around her arm and she spins, using her biotics to shove Shepard away with wild and frightened eyes. Her heart pounds faster than the rain that's coating her body and dripping into her eyes. She blinks, eyes fluttering like turbulent wings to repeal the water in self defense against the memories it brings. The sensation of it shocks her, bringing back every forcefully forgotten moment in a waterfall of pain. Like a feral cat she claws at her head, holding back a scream that lays trapped in her throat. 

"Jack." Shepard's voice is strong. Commanding.  _Commander_. 

She forces her head up, meeting his steel grey eyes. Her heart skips at the sight. No. Stupid. He's toying with you. Don't be fucking stupid, Jack. She knows better. She's learned. It's the only lesson the galaxy's ever taught her. Men are always toying with you, and so are women, and any other being that can talk. Only things she trusts are her enemies to attack and the pet varen he let bring her aboard after Tuchanka. 

"What do you want from me?" The words surprise her as they leave her mouth. It isn't the question she had meant to ask. 

Shepard takes a step forward, rubbing his chest. "Well, not to be thrown against a rock would be a start," he teases, but his tone isn't malicious. 

Jack bends at the knees, ready to flee or attack, whichever comes first. "Then don't fucking touch me, Shepard."

"I'm sorry." Why does he sound so genuine? "Are you feeling better?"

"I feel fine," she snaps, and the harsh reply makes her lip curl automatically. "Fuck off with that bullshit. I don't need your fake ass "caring" shit."

Shepard's brows furrow as he frowns harder. "It isn't fake, but I guess you still don't believe me."

He turns, walking away from her. As she stares at his back, her heart sinks. Had she wanted him to stay? Fuck.

Jack twists her body around, grateful that the rain hides teardrops so well. Fuck. She doesn't want to care. He doesn't. He can't. It isn't like that. It can't be like that. Fuck. She clenches her fists and curses this stupid fucking rain and all the bad shit it brings.

Suddenly the rain stops above her head, still pouring in sheets in front of her face. The harsh pit pat pit pat pit pit pat of rain against the thick nylon fabric of an umbrella beats in her ears. Her eyes widen as she looks up at the pitch black fabric, an N7 stripe down the side.

"I guess I packed one," Shepard says,  looking out over the planet's surface, rain splattering against his head.

"Fuck off," she replies. "Use it yourself, dumbass. You're soaked."

He drops the umbrella gently on her head and walks away, leaning against the same boulder she had been leaning against moments ago. "I like the rain," he replies.

"I don't want your stupid fucking umbrella, Shepard," she calls out over the sound of wind and rain. "Shepard! I know you can hear me. Asshole."

Shepard leans back, opening his mouth and letting the rain fall against his face. "You're crazier than I am," Jack mutters to herself, jogging over to him.

She thrusts the umbrella at his chest, annoyance prickling when he refuses to take it, a playful grin tugging at his lips. "I hate you," she says.

Shepard nods, suddenly serious. "I know. I'm still hoping that changes."

"Why the fuck do you care so much?" Jack asks, umbrella hanging limp by her side. "We went over this. You're not interested."

_His tongue had tasted of whisky, honeyed sweetness with a touch of burning as she kissed him. His pain was palpable against her skin as his fingers gripped her arms, nails digging into her flesh and leaving little half-moon dents behind when he wrenched himself away._

_His eyes had bored into hers, thick brows furrowed as he took deep, careful breaths. "You hate me," he had said, voice lowered in a deep growl._

_Jack had agreed, a frown twisting on the edges of her lips._

_She can see the way he had run his fingers through his long hair, breath escaping in a huff. "Then why do you want me?" The question had come out halting, angry, like sharp needles against her skin._

_Jack had responded by letting out a low laugh, bubbling up from somewhere deep inside. "Because we always want what we shouldn't have. Now quit talking so much and fucking kiss me," she had whispered._

_Shepard pushed her away, shaking his head. "No. Not like this. I don't want you like this."_

What the fuck was something like that supposed to mean anyway?

"I didn't reject you," he corrects, eyes flashing. "I rejected hate fucking you."

"Whatever," she replies, but this time she doesn't run away. "Fuck."

She moves to stand next to him, a large enough gap to fit two large fists, and holds the umbrella in between them. Her shoulder is drenched anew in no time, but she's half dry.

"Shepard? Can y... hea... me?" Jokers voice is partial static beneath the rain. "I'm sen... down a shutt..."

She only hates the side of her with rain.


End file.
